Citizens wanting to confirm the legitimacy of their marital or other professional counselor can now do so quickly online. The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) recently launched a public search utility providing immediate access to all professional counselor license holders in the state of Oklahoma.

“We are dedicated to improving customer service and Internet technology provides us with the tools to make it easier and more convenient for citizens to find the information they need,” said Rocky McElvany, MS, Interim Commissioner of Health.

The online service provides the public with multiple options to search for professional counselors by name, license number, license type, city, or by a licensees' status. The public can also print detailed information for a professional counselor or multiple counselors including phone number, status, license issue and expiration date, if any disciplinary actions have ever been taken, and what those actions were. License types the public can search for include:

• Licensed Professional Counselor

• Licensed Marital and Family Therapist

• Licensed Behavioral Practitioner

• Licensed Genetic Counselor

• Applicant

OSDH Professional Counselor Public Search Utility is a product of a partnership between the Oklahoma Office of State Finance and OK.gov, Oklahoma’s Official Web site managed by the eGovernment firm, NIC Inc. (NASDAQ: EGOV).

City of Nicoma Park, Oklahoma, residents and businesses can now make secure payments online for utility bills and citations. Nicoma Park’s online bill pay system is located off the Nicoma Park Homepage under the “Online Bill Pay” tab.

"Our new online bill pay system will provide greater citizen convenience,” said Beverly McManus, City Clerk/Treasurer of Nicoma Park. "Instead of calling, mailing, or visiting our offices to pay their bills, individuals can conduct that business easily and securely on our Web site. We also hope to bring more convenience to our citizens with additional payment options in the future."

The city is currently accepting Visa, MasterCard, and checking/savings account payments for monthly utility bills and citations. The payments are processed through a secure payment engine, which abides by rigorous policies and procedures to ensure that citizens and businesses can be confident that their payments are safe, private, and secure.

Does saving money, going green and losing weight... wait sound like some of the resolutions you made at the beginning of the year? If so, the Oklahoma Tax Commission wants you to try filing your taxes electronically this year and meet your resolutions.

Electronic filing of tax returns is the quickest and most efficient way to file. There’s less paper involved, and taxpayers receiving a refund who file electronically can usually expect their refund in five to seven days. And by choosing to have refunds directly deposited into a checking or savings account, taxpayers can see an even quicker receipt of a refund.

Go green…consider filing electronically instead of using a paper return. E-filed returns provide the taxpayer with the confidence of an accurate return being processed and a quick turn around time if receiving a refund. Taxpayers that e-file will also receive confirmation approximately 24-48 hours after submission that their return was received and is ready for processing.

Save money and lose the wait time… Last year approximately 1.7 million tax returns were filed with the State of Oklahoma. Over half of those returns, or more than 932,000, were filed electronically. To date, over 470,000 Oklahoma returns have been filed electronically.

Taxpayers wanting to prepare their own returns may choose from two electronic filing options when filing their 2008 Oklahoma individual income tax return.

• Returns, including refunds, balances due, or no balance due, may be filed electronically using the Internet. Taxpayers can visit the Oklahoma Tax Commission web site at www.tax.ok.gov for information on electronic filing programs, some of which taxpayers may qualify to use for free.

• Taxpayers may also purchase software that will allow them to prepare and file both their federal and state income tax returns electronically. The links offered by the OTC offer taxpayers the ability to prepare and transmit their returns using the same software for a fraction of the price of purchasing the software.

When filing electronically taxpayers will usually receive their Oklahoma refund within five to seven days. Usually even faster when using direct deposit.

Need more reasons? The Oklahoma Tax Commission provides many ways for you to file your taxes, including e-file.

Oklahoma Department of Human Services"Serving more than a million Oklahomans monthly, the Oklahoma DHS works diligently to help individuals and families help themselves lead safer, healthier and more independent and productive lives..." more

OK.gov (http://www.ok.gov/) built and manages the official Web site for the state of Oklahoma and partners with state agencies to bring new government services online. OK.gov is managed by the Oklahoma Office of State Finance and eGovernment firm NIC Inc.